Freshwater Pearl Farm Visit - Zhuji and Shanxiahu

[jshepherd]

Guild Labs just put out this video showing snippets from our trip. I wasn't able to download it for some reason, so this is a screen recording.

This one has some really good information on what is happening in the industry today.

 

[CortezPearls]

Thanks for sharing! This is VERY interesting!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

This is VERY interesting!

I'm impressed by the individualized feeding system during juvenile rearing. Though not mentioned, it's apparent thermal control optimizes food cell size and volume per ml, thus maximizing growth rates uniformly among the biomass. It involves a lot more handling thus more labour intensive, but I'd expect this is offset by early detection of problems and disease control as well as increased hatchery to adult ranges. Better utilization overall.

 

[jshepherd]

I'm impressed by the individualized feeding system during juvenile rearing. Though not mentioned, it's apparent thermal control optimizes food cell size and volume per ml, thus maximizing growth rates uniformly among the biomass. It involves a lot more handling thus more labour intensive, but I'd expect this is offset by early detection of problems and disease control as well as increased hatchery to adult ranges. Better utilization overall.

They are growing out the pearls to full term in this method.

There are two: direct into the shell as shown in their video, and released just above the shell.



The shells are fed a blue-green algae. This method of farming is very expensive, but it produces no pollution, so there is no damage to the water table, and the farms do not have to be emptied every 2-3 years. There is no more poultry fouling or phosphorus this way either.

They are able to offset a lot of the cost buy deepening the ponds to more than 20 feet vs the traditional 7-10, and stacking the lines three deep.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

They are growing out the pearls to full term in this method.

There is no more poultry fouling or phosphorus this way either.

The method for the full term is extraordinary!

Have most farms actually transitioned or is it still a work in progress?

 

[jshepherd]

We only saw one like this. All the others we saw were still the traditional style.

 

[SteveM]

We only saw one like this.

The technique appears so futuristic it causes me to wonder if among the secret experiments on Tiangong Space Station is low-gravity perliculture (now that it has been determined there are unlimited amounts of pure water on the moon). You heard it here first.

 

[CortezPearls]

They are growing out the pearls to full term in this method.

There are two: direct into the shell as shown in their video, and released just above the shell.

View attachment 471665View attachment 471666View attachment 471667

The shells are fed a blue-green algae. This method of farming is very expensive, but it produces no pollution, so there is no damage to the water table, and the farms do not have to be emptied every 2-3 years. There is no more poultry fouling or phosphorus this way either.

They are able to offset a lot of the cost buy deepening the ponds to more than 20 feet vs the traditional 7-10, and stacking the lines three deep.

Wow! Sustainability at last!

 

[Yens]

Thanks for sharing

 

[jeg]

Really enjoying glimpses from your trip, Jeremy. Looking forward to more!!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Wow! Sustainability at last!

Agreed, it's being taken in the direction to needs to go.

All of this gives me pause. Our western way of thinking simply does not provide for what we're seeing here. You and I have a maritime coast not unlike Japan. Along the entire Pacific Rim, one farm in Mexico and a single research area in Canada demonstrate woefully under-utilized opportunities. The total length of the British Columbia Coast is over 25,725 km (15,985 mi), or approximately 10% of the entire Canadian coastline. The northwest of North America is a land of moderately temperate lakes, not unlike those in China. In Canada, all waters are governed by the crown. We have a tenure system that allows us to lease massive tracts at exceedingly low cost, basically at the same rate as land tax for any farmer, but without the burden of ownership in the first place.

Our labour pool is minuscule compared to China. We demand cushy jobs with over the top benefits while our bureaucracies and regulators are off the charts.

We have the technology and despite our best efforts, it seems we've missed the boat yet again. Sigh.